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5/23/07 HPV?


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How do you feel about the HPV Vaccine? Would you want your daughter to have it or not? (Here is a link just in case you don't know what it is). Why or why not? :giggle: My daughter turned ten and she goes in for her 5th grade booster shot and I was forwarned by other parents that the doctors are pushing this shot pretty hard :wave: . I am kinda undecided and the reason is because it has not been out long enough for public use.

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For me it is a no brainer. This vaccine prevents the precursor to CANCER of the cervix. IF there were adverse effects for the vaccine could they really outweigh the benefits of cancer prevention or compare to the deadly effects of cervical cancer? I had a friend who died of it and myself had to go through treatment and do not wish either of these scenarios for my daughter. HPV is silent and non discriminating and one does not have to be morally defunct to be infected.

I also feel that pairing it with the grade 4 or five immunizations is a good choice as well. Prevention is the key here and getting the girls before they are sexually active is the key. It does not mean that there is liscence for a 10 yr old to be sexually active but waiting until the grade 8 immunizations is too late in todays world as so many girls of that age have begun experimenting with sexual activity and thus can become infected.

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I have to say that my child will not be getting it!!! They said the same things about the chicken pox vacine and founf out later that it was giving all the kids SHINGLES when they hit puberty. They have no idea the long term affects of the vacine. It could make her sterile for all they know or give them another kind of cancer.

My husband is the only person I have ever been with, so it can be done in todays world, it just takes a stronger person to do it. I am going to make sure my daughter understands and knows the consiquences of fooling around. I do know that I can not watch her 24/7 and ultimatly it is up to her to follow through with what I have taught her, but if she really understands she is taking her life in her hands every time she has sex I think she will be more resonsible about it.

On a side note I have a problem with this vaccine also because it is targeting girls and it is boys that spread it so why did they not come up with a vaccine for boys?? It is just way to political for me.

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I think it is a wonderful thing...

When you have lost someone from cervial cancer you will rush to get yours...

I think anything that is preventive then it is a wonderful thing... It has been on the market from what

I have been reading in Canada they did a larger study there before it was brought to the US. Most drugs

are tested in other counties and USA is always a little slow to bringing them here..

<<<<The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gardasil on June 8, 2006. Gardasil is currently available.The drug is already approved for use in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Serbia, and countries of the European Union.>>>

<<<<<270,000 women died of cervical cancer worldwide in 2002>>>>

This day and time to have your head in the sand and think that your child is not going to have sex

is even more hurtful than talking about it and having them understand about this shot and why they are getting it... It may not help them now but very well could in the future...

Also we live in a time where kids are molested and raped..

Keep this in mind I talk to people everyday that people say that stuff will never happen to their kids or

just never thought it would.... I hear the worse stuff...

So this vaccine is something to think about and read on and get educated...

So before you say NOWAY or even YES WAY get educated!!

Education is the key in learning about life and our bodies.

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I would definitely have my daughters (if I'm lucky enough to have any) get it. I actually considered getting it myself even though I'm above the suggested age because my ob/gyn had suggested it since during one of my last paps she tested me for HPV and it was positive. So I did some research, but not much. I decided not to because it would have meant putting off trying to get pregnant for many months, and since DH and I want to start a family as soon as possible, it didn't make sense. I also decided it didn't make sense for me, because I'm married and know that my husband and I will be faithful, so I don't have to worry about getting other strands of the virus.

Men do spread HPV, but they don't have any symptoms or problems with it so that is why it is more important to worry about a vaccine for women. Since HPV can cause cervical cancer, to me it is important to get the vaccine. Doing it with other vaccines would make sense so the girl wouldn't even realize it was a vaccine related to sex.

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I have to say that my child will not be getting it!!! They said the same things about the chicken pox vacine and founf out later that it was giving all the kids SHINGLES when they hit puberty.

This is how I feel too Melanie. 2 of my kids had the Chicken Pox Vaccine (Both of my girls) My son had the Chicken pox so he did not get it. Rachel last year had bumps on her body that looked like chicken pox and we took her to the doctor and it was a mild case of shingles!! The doctor said people who had the Vaccine are more likly to develop shingles! :please:

I do agree that if there is enough studies done on this, I think it is a positive thing to have done. Also, I know you can be a Virgin but what about the guy you marry? If he had sex with someone infected with it, he won't have symptoms but you could get HPV which can develop into Cancer (Seems like a no win situation always for us females :p) .

I do think I will wait until Rachel is a little older (Maybe 12) before she get these shots though. When I worked in Saftey/QA for the Phamaceutical company a few years back, I remember filling out reports to the FDA & HPB regarding adverse reactions people had from the different drugs. While the company that offer Gaurdisill have to report any AR's they are awear of (Adverse Reactions) to the FDA it does take a while for the FDA to actually pull a drug off the shelves or add warnings to it.

Pharmacist (like walgreens, osco costco) don't even give you the "real" PI (Package Inserts) Now-a-days that come directly from the Pharmaceutical companies (They have to create one and a very accurate one before the drug is released to the public and IT has to be approved by the FDA). Now if you take a perscription to the pharmacy, you'll get the pharmacy's list of things to look out for. The PI is more detailed IMO. I think it is wrong that for the past 4 years we see less and less of the actual PI's from the actual company that made & actually studied the drug.

I guess that is why I want it on the market a little longer before I let My daughter have it. Sometimes I think I think into some of this stuff a little bit more because of my background. Is it a blessing or a curse :lol: Sorry for the long letter but I am wondering how everyne else feel about this cause I know some of you have kids Rachels age and I was wondering what happened when you went to the doctors office :hmm:

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I gotta say I agree with you Tracy...this vaccine hasn't been on the market long enough to know the long term effect it may or may not have...Look at the drug avandia for diabetics...it was put on the market, people started taking it and now they discover that it may cause heart problems for some...and avandia isn't the first drug that has had adverse and sometimes deadly side effects discovered after it was released for public use...If I am not mistaken, a woman can be screened for HPV...personally, I feel that this is a safer route...first find out if you actually have the virus...and then take the treatment for it...I am not a huge fan of drugs to begin with and I feel that the less you have to take, the better...

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I gotta say I agree with you Tracy...this vaccine hasn't been on the market long enough to know the long term effect it may or may not have...Look at the drug avandia for diabetics...it was put on the market, people started taking it and now they discover that it may cause heart problems for some...and avandia isn't the first drug that has had adverse and sometimes deadly side effects discovered after it was released for public use...If I am not mistaken, a woman can be screened for HPV...personally, I feel that this is a safer route...first find out if you actually have the virus...and then take the treatment for it...I am not a huge fan of drugs to begin with and I feel that the less you have to take, the better...

A vaccine isn't a drug. Currently there are no treatments for viruses. That's why there's no cure for the common cold or influenza. The only kind of treatment available for viruses are vaccines. If it weren't for vaccines people would still be being crippled by polio and dying from small pox.

I hope all my granddaughters get this vaccine.

Kathy

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am kinda undecided and the reason is because it has not been out long enough for public use.
Tracy, get this vaccine for Rachel. No vaccine is made available for immunizations, especially for children, until the CDC is satisfied by the years of preliminary testing and by constantly monitoring the vaccine's history to keep it on the market.
They said the same things about the chicken pox vacine and founf out later that it was giving all the kids SHINGLES when they hit puberty.
The varicella virus that causes chickenpox AND shingles encapsulates so that anyone who has ever had or been exposed to the virus is at risk for developing shingles. What makes vaccines work is that they expose the body to minute amounts of the antigen in the virus so the normal immunoresponse is to make massive amounts of antibodies to the viral agent, which provides immunity.

I'm a retired public health nurse and I have given thousands of vaccines and never witnessed any of the reported adverse events that may accompany any given vaccine.

BTW, the Heb B vaccine protects against liver cancer. Anyone out there refuse to get their child immunized against Hebatitis B, which can be fatal even without causing the cancer? I am going to begin nagging DS & his wife to get Grayson immunized with the HPV vaccine ASA she's old enough.

Look at the drug avandia for diabetics...it was put on the market, people started taking it and now they discover that it may cause heart problems for some
Apples and oranges, and the cardiac effects info was released within a year after Avandia first appeared on the market.
first find out if you actually have the virus...and then take the treatment for it
HPV vaccine will NOT cure HPV, it will prevent it, but only in someone who doesn't already have it.
This day and time to have your head in the sand and think that your child is not going to have sex

is even more hurtful than talking about it and having them understand about this shot and why they are getting it

Thank you! And no one has mentioned the "R" word, but rape is another unfortunate problem of our sick society.
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Tracy I'm so glad you asked this question. My oldest DGD is reaching the age where it should be considered and I like to see all the responses. I think that her Dr was the one to bring up the subject at her last physical and I know DD is weighing the pros and cons.

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Tracy, get this vaccine for Rachel. No vaccine is made available for immunizations, especially for children, until the CDC is satisfied by the years of preliminary testing and by constantly monitoring the vaccine's history to keep it on the market.
Though this is true (As it can take up to 14 years of studies in animals and humans before a Drug or Vaccine is released to the public), It still is not studied in enough humans IMO in the volume it is AFTER the release. Sure they do their "due diligence" but I know for a FACT that a lot of things does not creep up until it is available to the public in various types of people. Different genes, lifestyles and cultures does play a huge roll in how these drugs OR Vaccines (Or food for that matter) will effect the population.

I'm a retired public health nurse and I have given thousands of vaccines and never witnessed any of the reported adverse events that may accompany any given vaccine.
Though I am not a nurse, I do have 2 friends of mine who have children who have seizures now because of vaccines they had as babies. One of the children is now mentally retarded and was fine before the shot. It does happen though not as often. I like to read FACTS and see them in print on paper with studies AFTER the relase date. I then like to compare. I was never like that with my first child but working at the company I did made me more awear of things and the process. It is a LONG process to get things approved and the weirdest things do pop up after the studies are closed and the drug (or Vaccine or food or chemical) is approved by the FDA. Things get pulled off the market after it has been approved by the FDA because of the fact that after the release, they have found "Something" was not as safe as they thought it was at first. :p

A vaccine isn't a drug.
That is so true but though a Vaccine is not a drug, it still has to go through the same loops (different phases of tests) as drugs do to get approved by the FDA. ARs happen. ARs do not always happen right away either. You can have an adverse reaction to something even weeks after you were exposed to it :hmm: .

I guess my alarms go off regarding this because at first, they were trying to mandate people to have their daughters vaccinated through the schools (In Texas I think) and to me, it is not right to do that. :please: It should not be pushed at school but health concerns are decisions between a parent & doctor. They did not even push Hepatitis vaccines like this, so what is up with that I wonder?

If it is found that this is safe after another year or so of studies, I will totally have the Vaccine for her but (and SArah too later on) but, until then, I think I am in the "wait it out camp" for now. :p

So this vaccine is something to think about and read on and get educated...

So before you say NOWAY or even YES WAY get educated!!

Jen, that is exactly why I made it the question of the day. I think everyone should come to a decision best for them and this is a way to help people want to look into this more. We all have some one we know who are at an age in their life where this can effect their life. :lol: My decision may not be the right decision to someone else but discussing it will make them want to learn more, I hope. It can be life changing in a positive way if it does what they say it does. Also, their are MANY different variations of HPV and the shot does not cover them all just like the flu shot does not cover every flu virus.
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Catriona is 15 and is schedualed for her yearly in a couple of weeks. we have talked about this

and I am worried about the "new"ness of this vaccine myself.

I do not want her on any BC either due to family history of female issues. my grandmother had 9 children...5 girls and 7 grandkids...my mother was the only one of the girls who did not have any issues before having children....all of them have had hysterectomys as my sister and I have had also. all of us grandaughters have had issues also. so I worry about prematurally putting her on hormonal BC. I want her to have children if she wants to later.

and no I do not have my head buried in the sand about if she will...its a matter of when she will.

but I hope she has listened to me enough to come to me if she needs too.

I worry a great deal about the family history and her future.

so we will be discussing this vaccine at our appnt. and see what happens.

good discussion here!

nutti :lol:

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If it is found that this is safe after another year or so of studies, I will totally have the Vaccine for her but (and SArah too later on) but, until then, I think I am in the "wait it out camp" for now.
And I agree totally with your reasons, based on your experiences. Because there is a history of adverse effects to the pertussis vaccine that component was removed from the DTP vaccine.
It should not be pushed at school but health concerns are decisions between a parent & doctor. They did not even push Hepatitis vaccines like this,
The reasoning behind mandating vaccines for school entry goes back to the rubella epidemic in the '80s with all the attendant fatalities and other permanent effects. And in the South the HepB vaccine was pushed even harder than anything I've seen or heard about the HPV. HPV is a MAJOR public health concern, right up there with all the strains of hepatitis (the last I heard they were up to H or J, I think) and HIV as a widespread, so far incurable and still often fatal disease entity.

My arguments for the vaccine are aimed primarily at those well-meaning parents who have (hopefully) taught their daughters about safe sex but then assume those daughters will never find themselves in risky situations or with normal adolescent attitudes and responses. If you know your daughter will never be a rape victim, teach her about mechanical/ non-hormonal birth control methods. School nurses may teach the "facts of life" (only with parental consent and after informing the parent what topics will be covered), including all about STDs, but in FL it is against the law to teach contraception. Hormonal contraception doesn't prevent stds, barrier methods do.

Sorry for the sex lecture, but that's what it boils down to.

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  • 4 years later...

I was told after the birth of my last child that I had the HPV and had to go through the scope and had part of my cervix removed. In Ireland where I lived it going to be mandatory. I was happy to hear this, as I don't want my daughter to go through what I did.

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If I had a daughter, I would have her get the vaccine in a heartbeat. A person MIGHT get adverse reactions from the vaccine. But I'd be willing to bet those adverse reactions are a whole lot less serious than the adverse reactions from cervical cancer. And yes, they are now saying boys should get the vaccine as well.

Who in their right mind wouldn't vaccinate against chicken pox? Yes, shingles is awful, but as someone who wasn't vaccinated for chicken pox and had the disease at a young age, I got shingles anyway. Letting your kids get chickenpox is no guarantee he won't get shingles. If you don't vaccinate your child, what happens if he doesn't get chicken pox until after he's grown? Chicken pox in an adult person is horrible. They can have chicken pox inside their throat, inside their stomach and anywhere else. And with so many other parents out there not vaccinating their children, it's a very real possibility that one of those kids may expose your young adult to this disease. And what happens if your child does come down with a case of chickenpox? You do know that children can be contagious before they show symptoms, right? So what happens when you take your child with you and expose him to another unvaccinated adult or a pregnant woman? What do you say to the woman who loses her baby because of this? Do you say, "Sorry, my preference to not vaccinate my kid was more important than your baby's life."?

Vaccinations are not all about you and your family. You share the world with other people and it's in everybody's best interest to vaccinate their kid. It's a good thing smallpox is a thing of the past or we'd have parents complaining about the 1 in 3 million chance of their kids getting sick from the vaccination and paying no attention to the 1 in 3 chance of dying from smallpox itself. Did you know that measles is so contagious that 90% of people exposed to it get the disease? That includes kids who have never been vaccinated and become exposed. Why would anyone wish this on their kid?

I know I came on a little strong here, but if you read about how many kids in the world these diseases kill every year and then see how the US has a lower vaccination rate than some third world countries, you have to wonder where our heads are.

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...It's a good thing smallpox is a thing of the past...
No it's not; While I was still working for the health department the CDC let us all know that some of the lab samples being kept around the world had come up missing and since 9/11 we're all more vigilant, so the vaccine companies have been making us stores of smallpox vaccine and health department staffs have been getting themselves innoculated (I didn't, due to imminent retirement and possible adverse reactions due to age) in case some terrorist group decides it'd be fun to start a new epidemic.

People can get chicken pox as adults, even if they had it as children.

Check the stats on the last bad measles outbreak we had in the 1980s and how many people DIED. Vaccines save lives. Vaccines do NOT cause autism.

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  • 5 months later...

I have to say that my child will not be getting it!!! They said the same things about the chicken pox vacine and founf out later that it was giving all the kids SHINGLES when they hit puberty. They have no idea the long term affects of the vacine. It could make her sterile for all they know or give them another kind of cancer.

My husband is the only person I have ever been with, so it can be done in todays world, it just takes a stronger person to do it. I am going to make sure my daughter understands and knows the consiquences of fooling around. I do know that I can not watch her 24/7 and ultimatly it is up to her to follow through with what I have taught her, but if she really understands she is taking her life in her hands every time she has sex I think she will be more resonsible about it.

On a side note I have a problem with this vaccine also because it is targeting girls and it is boys that spread it so why did they not come up with a vaccine for boys?? It is just way to political for me.

I agree with you 100%!!! "They" are pushing so many drugs on children these days it is scary! And they always have the obligatory coercion of how "necessary", "preventive", and "wonderful" their ideas are. I would do massive research and go with a real "gut" feeling about things like this. Personaly, I think this ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) scam is - well - just that - a scam. Way too political indeed.

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When you do your massive research, DO be sure to include the decades of primary literature that went into researching this vaccine, instead of just the press releases. Understanding all the research that goes into designing a vaccine like this, and then all the clinical studies it takes to bring a vaccine to market will help you understand why scientists stand by this vaccine in both efficacy and safety. As a scientist I want the public to understand what the data says, instead of just dismissing it entirely without reading how the research was done. You can find public access to government funded research here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

DO understand it's the media that adds terms like "wonderful" to sell a story, scientists report facts. Please understand that we in the scientific community are people too, with families we wish to keep safe. Since the vioxx recall, the biotech industry is closely monitored, and there is no closer watchdog than the scientists themselves. We want the public to trust us, and we aren't the greedy elitists some would have you believe us to be. Believe me, I'm not in this for the money, mostly because there is very little in discovery science. There's a reason I build rehabbed dollhouses off of craigslist and matboard furniture I make myself instead of RGT houses filled with Bespaq furniture. :)

DO keep an open mind when reading through the reports, and be willing to change your mind from your gut feeling. Science is not an opinion. As we say in the lab, you go where the data leads you. I guess I would hope this massive-research tactic would be applied to other scientific debates. Information is power. Please, I can't say it enough, read the primary literature. It's available to you as a tax-paying citizen, and we publish results to share our discoveries with you.

Disclaimer: I'm a scientist at a major medical university and absolutely got the vaccine. I was young enough at the time, and was a target candidate.

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When you do your massive research, DO be sure to include the decades of primary literature that went into researching this vaccine, instead of just the press releases. Understanding all the research that goes into designing a vaccine like this, and then all the clinical studies it takes to bring a vaccine to market will help you understand why scientists stand by this vaccine in both efficacy and safety. As a scientist I want the public to understand what the data says, instead of just dismissing it entirely without reading how the research was done. You can find public access to government funded research here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

DO understand it's the media that adds terms like "wonderful" to sell a story, scientists report facts. Please understand that we in the scientific community are people too, with families we wish to keep safe. Since the vioxx recall, the biotech industry is closely monitored, and there is no closer watchdog than the scientists themselves. We want the public to trust us, and we aren't the greedy elitists some would have you believe us to be. Believe me, I'm not in this for the money, mostly because there is very little in discovery science. There's a reason I build rehabbed dollhouses off of craigslist and matboard furniture I make myself instead of RGT houses filled with Bespaq furniture. :)

DO keep an open mind when reading through the reports, and be willing to change your mind from your gut feeling. Science is not an opinion. As we say in the lab, you go where the data leads you. I guess I would hope this massive-research tactic would be applied to other scientific debates. Information is power. Please, I can't say it enough, read the primary literature. It's available to you as a tax-paying citizen, and we publish results to share our discoveries with you.

Disclaimer: I'm a scientist at a major medical university and absolutely got the vaccine. I was young enough at the time, and was a target candidate.

I certainly appreciate this information and explanation here. Good information indeed. My main point - which may have not been properly stated - was that I personally feel that mandating can and has been at times gotten out of hand. Decision makers in these matters should be very carefully chosen.

On a lighter note, I only have one RGT and will only ever have one RGT to pass down as a family heirloom. Thus far, I only have one piece of furniture in the house. :)

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When you do your massive research, DO be sure to include the decades of primary literature that went into researching this vaccine, instead of just the press releases. Understanding all the research that goes into designing a vaccine like this, and then all the clinical studies it takes to bring a vaccine to market will help you understand why scientists stand by this vaccine in both efficacy and safety. As a scientist I want the public to understand what the data says, instead of just dismissing it entirely without reading how the research was done. You can find public access to government funded research here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

DO understand it's the media that adds terms like "wonderful" to sell a story, scientists report facts. Please understand that we in the scientific community are people too, with families we wish to keep safe. Since the vioxx recall, the biotech industry is closely monitored, and there is no closer watchdog than the scientists themselves. We want the public to trust us, and we aren't the greedy elitists some would have you believe us to be. Believe me, I'm not in this for the money, mostly because there is very little in discovery science. There's a reason I build rehabbed dollhouses off of craigslist and matboard furniture I make myself instead of RGT houses filled with Bespaq furniture. :)

DO keep an open mind when reading through the reports, and be willing to change your mind from your gut feeling. Science is not an opinion. As we say in the lab, you go where the data leads you. I guess I would hope this massive-research tactic would be applied to other scientific debates. Information is power. Please, I can't say it enough, read the primary literature. It's available to you as a tax-paying citizen, and we publish results to share our discoveries with you.

Disclaimer: I'm a scientist at a major medical university and absolutely got the vaccine. I was young enough at the time, and was a target candidate.

Hello, fellow scientist! :-D I'm a marine biologist, but I completely concur.

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As a retired public health nurse, I do get a bit impatient with the misinformation that passes around to scare the public away from vaccines that can prevent epidemic diseases. Thanks for the reality check!

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  • 10 months later...

One of the things we are losing with the fear of vaccines is "herd immunity". This is when enough people are immune to a disease it helps protect the people who aren't immune. We have kids dying...yes dying...from measles, scarlet fever and other diseases of the past.

Having lost a friend to cervical cancer, I would not wish that agony on anyone, and having had my(ex) fiancee pass HPV on to me, I am all for the shot, and my niece was not given a choice about it. I've been clear with my PAP tests for years now, but I will never forget the terror and shame of being told my PAP exam was abnormal and most likely HPV.

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I'm a retired public health nurse. When we got our annual vaccine update inservices from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta, part of the inservice included updates about all the anti-vaccination misinformation making the rounds. We are now coming into another pertussis (whooping cough) epidemic that killed people in the past year.

Wake up, people! Vaccines save lives!

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